This invention relates to processes utilizing ion exchange resin for recovering a concentrated solution of uranium from a feed solution, relatively weak in uranium ion and containing ferric ion as an unwanted impurity component.
In the conventional recovery processes, the presence of unwanted ferric impurity in the feed solutions often detracts from the efficiency of the process, as, firstly, the unwanted ferric component if present in significant concentrations often tends to initially saturate the resin in the step of exhaustion of the feed solution onto the resin, even though the resin has less affinity for the unwanted component than for the component of interest, and either longer periods are required for achieving a loading of the component of interest approaching the equilibrium loading, or if a shorter period is allowed for the absorption step this is at the expense of achieving lower loadings of the component of interest.
Secondly, the unwanted ferric component tends to be stripped from the loaded resin in the elution step of stripping the loaded resin with eluant solution containing eluant ion, and the unwanted ferric component which is recovered along with the uranium in the concentrated eluate may be present in such concentrations that it renders the subsequent operation of separating the uranium from the concentrated eluate more costly than would be the case if a purer eluate could be recovered.